Minnesota Vikings – Sports Updatehttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate
Blogging special sports events and storiesThu, 27 Oct 2016 18:43:48 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.151022412Ex-Rice quarterback Kramer selected for College Football Hall of Famehttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/ex-rice-quarterback-kramer-selected-for-college-football-hall-of-fame/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/ex-rice-quarterback-kramer-selected-for-college-football-hall-of-fame/#commentsTue, 15 May 2012 15:45:48 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=7747
Tommy Kramer led the nation in passing and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1976.]]>Before the start of spring football in 1976, new Rice coach Homer Rice met with starting quarterback Tommy Kramer.

“Tommy, I’ve been thinking real hard about this and have watched a lot of your tapes,” Kramer recalls Rice telling him. “I can tell you one thing …”

Rice then held his index finger and thumb about an inch apart.

Tommy Kramer led the nation in passing and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1976. (Rice University)

“You’re about this far from being an All-American quarterback and leading the nation in passing,” Rice continued. “If you just follow my program, I guarantee you’ll be a first-round draft pick.”

Rice forgot one more thing: a College Football Hall of Famer.

Kramer, who led the Owls’ high-flying attack of the mid-1970s, was part of a class of 17 former players and coaches selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Tuesday.

Slocum went 123-47-2 in 14 seasons with the Aggies, winning four conference championships and making 11 bowl appearances.

“More important than the individual coaching records are the championships and the accomplishments of the team,” said Slocum, whose .865 winning percentage was the best in Southwest Conference history.

Kramer led the nation in passing with 3,317 yards as a senior in 1976, was a consensus All-American and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was named the SWC Player of the Year after becoming the first player in league history to top 3,000 yards total offense and recording four of the top eight passing performances while running the Owls’ “Triple Pocket” offense – a combination of the triple-option and dropback pass.

He held every Rice passing record that stood for more than three decades until Chase Clement’s record-shattering run from 2005-08.

“I knew the only way to be able to be a high-round (NFL draft) pick was to go to a school that was going to give me the opportunity to put the ball in the air all the time,” Kramer said. “That’s pretty much what we did at Rice. It was a perfect marriage.”

Despite playing on four losing teams, Kramer and the Owls’ aerial display gained national attention. In a 1976 article, Sports Illustrated wrote that Kramer and the Owls, who went 3-8, would receive the honor for “staging the most exciting and scariest aerial act since The Flying Wallendas – who never had to face a prevent defense.”

Kramer and Stanford’s John Elway are the only two quarterbacks to earn consensus All-American honors for a sub.500 team since 1970.

After Rice, Kramer was a first-round selection (27th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1977 NFL draft. Two years later, he became the Vikings’ starting quarterback following the retirement of Fran Tarkenton. During an injury-filled 14-year career, Kramer passed for nearly 25,000 yards and earned the nickname “Two-Minute Tommy” for his late-game comebacks. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year and selected to his only Pro Bowl in 1986 when he was the league’s highest-rated quarterback.

Getting selected for the hall, Kramer said, wasn’t something that crossed his mind. He was in Minneapolis making a public appearance when he got the phone call from NFF chairman Archie Manning. An unopened letter officially welcoming him to the hall remains in his mailbox back home in San Antonio.

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]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/05/ex-rice-quarterback-kramer-selected-for-college-football-hall-of-fame/feed/67747NFL preseason game a Rice family affair of sortshttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/09/nfl-preseason-game-a-rice-family-affair-of-sorts/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/09/nfl-preseason-game-a-rice-family-affair-of-sorts/#commentsThu, 01 Sep 2011 23:25:49 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=3672
Rice will be well-represented when the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings meet in an NFL preseason game Thursday night.]]>It may only be an NFL preseason game, but Rice players Corey Frazier and Klein Kubiak will have interest in Thursday night’s game between the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings.

That’s because their fathers are the head coaches.

Leslie Frazier, the father of Rice defensive back Corey Frazier, is entering his first full season as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Klein Kubiak’s dad, Gary, is in his sixth season as Texans’ head coach. Corey Frazier’s dad, Leslie, is in his first full season with the Vikings.

Any bets yet?

Like Kubiak cutting his hair?

“We have no bet yet, but I might have to propose that to him if (the Vikings) win,” said Frazier, a junior defensive back.